One of the guests who shared the risotto and the wine said he rarely thought of risotto with tomatoes.
A special red wine risotto, garnished with orange-spiced duck, dried figs and apricots, had too much going on.
RECOMMENDED DISHES -- Roast squab; red wine risotto; roast chicken; saddle of rabbit; trio of beef; crème brûlée; strawberry and fromage blanc dome.
Recommended dishes -- Spinach salad with pancetta, octopus salad, mussels in garlic and tomato sauce, baby chicken, spinach ravioli in meat sauce or saffron cream sauce, risotto with red wine, sausage and radicchio, grilled branzino, rack of lamb, veal chop, ribeye steak, macerated peaches, berry tart, chocolate almond cake, ricotta cheesecake.
Risotto and Wine Not exactly hot weather fare, but risotto and Amarone wines will be paired, after a risotto cooking demonstration, in a three-course tasting menu on July 27 from 6 30 to 8 30 p.m. at the International Culinary Center,462 Broadway (Grand Street), $75: masirisottorendezvous.eventbrite.com.com
The appetizers — those chicken livers, the white-wine risotto and shrimp with English peas and orange — hold nothing back; even the plain salad ("teen-age greens," according to the menu) gives you a little attitude.
Serves 4 2 tbsp olive oil 225g cold butter, diced small onion 1, chopped or small shallots 2, chopped 350g risotto rice 200ml white wine about 1.25 litres hot vegetable stock fresh Parmesan 100g, finely grated salt and freshly ground black pepper Heat the oil and 25g of the butter in a large pan over a medium heat.
To be honest, I wouldn't drive across the county to eat at Spasso, but if I were in the neighborhood, I wouldn't hesitate to drop by for spinach ravioli in saffron cream sauce or risotto infused with red wine, radicchio and sweet sausage.
Among our choices were beautifully browned sautéed Dover sole with artichoke chips and truffled hashed potatoes; rack and loin of venison with puréed chestnuts, gnocchi à la Romaine and quince compote; grenadin of veal on an island of creamy Maine lobster risotto, served in port wine sauce with crisp Parmesan lace; and roast pheasant with fingerling mashed potatoes and poached pear.
But in recent years, following the urging of my friends Angela Hartnett and Diego Cardoso of London's Murano restaurant, I've pretty much switched to light vegetable broth or much-diluted chicken stock, which return the spotlight to the star flavors of any risotto: shallots or onions, wine and, of course, rice.
